'D' IS FOR… DIRECTORS

& HOW TO SURVIVE THEM

You've prepared and auditioned, and hoped and prayed, and you've finally landed the role of your dreams. As you begin rehearsals for your next performance, on stage or screen, you want the experience to be as enjoyable and rewarding as possible for all involved.

The way you work with a director can set the stage for many future roles in their productions, or can ensure that you never work with that person again!

The biggest mistake most inexperienced actors (and some experienced ones) make is believing that the director will guide them in every way throughout the rehearsal process or film shoot.

A director has so many aspects of the production to manage that they will not have time to teach you how to act or to create a character for you, nor will they expect or want to.

The director's chief task is to make sure that all of the elements in the production work together to create an integrated whole that expresses their intent for the production. They will help you shape and mold your characterization as rehearsals move along (if the budget or schedule even allow for rehearsals that is!) - but it is YOUR job to create, develop and ultimately act your character.

This means that you'll be doing a lot of your characterization work outside of rehearsals (if you're lucky enough to have any!) If you don't have much experience with characterization, take some acting classes and get some good books on technique and characterization.

Directors love actors who jump right into characterization, who come up with lots of ideas and possibilities, and try new things. They're not so fond of those who come to rehearsal waiting to be told how to do every little thing… after all - you're the actor. It's your job to act! What would you think of a camera, sound or lighting technician who walked on set and said they weren't sure what to do?!

If you're working with a director you've never worked with before, you might find a moment early in the rehearsal or filming process when you can talk to them alone, and ask if there's a particular way they like to work with actors. Then follow that information to the best of your ability.

As with any job, part of the way you create a good reputation is to be on time and always ready to work.

If you are unavoidably late or simply can't make it (the reason had better be a true emergency), be sure to call and let the director or an assistant know IN ADVANCE.

There's nothing worse, for both director and actors, to get to a casting, rehearsal or a shoot and find out that the planned work can't be done because an actor is missing. A call ahead will at least allow the director and their team to quickly make other plans for the rehearsal.

The other aspect of building your reputation involves learning your lines and blocking on time, and keeping the lines and blocking as they are. Directors create blocking for a specific purpose, and changing a move without discussing it first can throw the whole scene off. If you find during the course of rehearsals that your character really wants to make a move other than what the director has specified, check it with the director first, and don't insist if the director doesn't want to make the change.

REMEMBER - ultimately the Director is boss.

So for better or for worse - their decision is final. No point arguing or getting angry because the Director can always sack you, replace you or just cut your scene in the final edit!

At the end of each rehearsal, the director will give notes to the actors, which can cover everything from blocking and characterization to volume and timing.

Some actors who are particularly sensitive to criticism have a tendency to defend themselves, as if every note is a critique of their work and their talent. This is a big turn-off for directors.

Notes are simply a normal part of the rehearsal process, and you'll win points if you:
• Accept the note in the positive, let's-make-it-even-better spirit in which it's given (i.e., nod your head and write it down.
• Do your very best to incorporate the suggestion AT THE NEXT REHEARSAL. Yes, this means you may have to go home and do some thinking, research, reflecting and experimenting before the next rehearsal, but directors love actors who take their suggestions and fly with them.

If a note is unclear, feel free to ask for clarification, but in general, the process of note-giving will go much faster if nobody's talking but the director.

If, after thinking about a note the director has given you, you feel that it just does not mesh with what you're working on, find a moment alone with the director to discuss it - don't start hashing it out in front of the whole cast. Often, if you take notes home and think about them, you'll find that the director's ideas can send you off in a new, creative direction, if you're open to them.

If the director is a tyrant (and there may be a few out there…), do your best to follow the directions you receive, but don't give up on your own part of the work. You can still turn in an excellent performance by adding your own ideas. And you can certainly choose not to work with that director again if the experience is very unpleasant. If the director seems abusive, don't hesitate to contact your actors' union, your agent or discuss matters with a fellow performer and ask them for help.

REMEMBER: You are a co-creator in the creative process.
You are adding your creative ideas to the pile, and if you allow the creative ideas of others to fan your creative flame, you'll go even further in your work.

KEEP YOUR MIND OPEN TO NEW IDEAS.
Remember: CONVICTION makes CONVICTS.

In other words - if you get convinced that there is just ONE RIGHT WAY and that's it - no other way is possible - then you are building your own prison.

Acting is ART - there is NO RIGHT WAY. Just lots of possibilities all there to be explored, experienced and enjoyed.

ABOVE ALL REMEMBER: As an actor you are PART of the CREATIVE TEAM.
Films, TV shows and plays are a team effort -
So be a TEAM PLAYER.


(Then again - if someone tells you: "There's no 'I' in TEAM" - you could always consider replying like I do with: "True. But there is a 'ME' in MEDIOCRE and a 'U' in DULL…!!!")

Compiled by Adam Fresco (2006)